10 The Greek Dimension of the Romanian Flour Industry in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Dimitrios M. Kontogeorgis The industrial activity of the Greeks residing in the various urban centres of the Russian Empire, Egypt and the Balkans has not yet been thoroughly researched, much less fully evaluated. This is undoubtedly due, first of all, to the fact that Greek business activity focused on commerce and shipping rather than on industry. Nevertheless, it is still interesting to study this economic sector because it highlights the acumen of many Greek entrepreneurs of the Greek diaspora 1 in exploiting the productive potential of the countries they resided in and using their networks to ensure the best possible distribution of their 1 The literature on the Greek diaspora phenomenon is extremely rich and varied. For a concise survey see, Ioannis K. Hassiotis, Επισκόπηση της ιστορίας της νεοελληνικής διασποράς [A Survey of the History of Modern Greek Diaspora], Thessa- loniki: Vanias, 1993, while a much more detailed volume is Ioannis K. Hassiotis, Olga Katsiardi-Hering and Euridiki A. Abatzi (eds), Οι Έλληνες στη διασπορά, 15ος-21ος αιώνας [The Greeks in Diaspora, 15th-21st Centuries], Athens: Hellenic Parliament, 2006. A comprehensive bibliography can be found on the website <http://www.arch. uoa.gr/diaspora/bibl>. For Greek diaspora studies see Olga Katsiardi-Hering, ‘Από τις ελληνικές κοινότητες του εξωτερικού στην ιστοριογραφία του μεταναστευτικού φαινομένου, 15ος-19ος αιώνας’ [From the Greek Communities of Abroad to the Historio-graphy of Migration Phenomenon, 15th to 19th Centuries], in P.M. Kitromilides and T.E. Sklavenites, Ιστοριογραφία της νεότερης και σύγχρονης Ελλάδας, 1833-2002. Πρακτικά Δ´ Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου Ιστορίας [Historiography of Modern and Contemporary Greece, 1833-2002. Proceedings of the Fourth Interna- tional History Conference], vol. II, Athens: Center of Neohellenic Research, National Foundation of Scientific Research, 2004, pp. 223-250. 261-282 Kontogeorgis_Layout 1 10/06/2013 9:53 π.μ. Page 261